Words That Descended Upon the Heart from Imam Rabbani
The wisdoms of Imam Rabbani are a selection of short sayings that touch the heart, character, and inner discipline of a person. Although each saying may appear as a simple note on its own, behind it lie fundamental issues such as the discipline of the nafs (the lower self), awareness of mortality, knowledge, adab (proper conduct), and maturity of the qalb (the heart).
01
"Just as there can be no religion without reason, it is also not possible to accept reason as the sole criterion and to accept its interpretations and judgments as religion. Such a thing would not be the religion sent by Allah, but a religion fabricated by man himself."
02
"The purpose in the creation of man is to fulfill the acts of worship that have been commanded to him."
03
"The aim of performing acts of worship is to attain yaqīn (certainty), which is the reality of iman (faith)."
04
"Know the value of your youth! In these precious days, learn the knowledge of Islam and live in accordance with this knowledge! Be alert so as not to spend your precious life in vain, chasing after useless things, play, and entertainment."
05
"Observing adab (proper conduct) is superior to dhikr (remembrance of God). One who does not observe adab cannot attain the Truth."
06
"The most superior of beings is the human. The lowest and the worst of creatures is also the human. For just as Muhammad Mustafa, the beloved of the Lord of the worlds, is a human, so too is Abu Jahl ibn Hisham, the enemy of the Lord of the worlds, a human."
07
"The testimony of faith (kalimat al-shahāda) is a light that, like a lightning bolt, topples the dark tree in the heart of a person and floods it with light."
08
"The superiority of companionship is above all other superiorities and perfections."
09
"The noble friend that the soul, which seeks the good, needs is the book that proclaims the truth."
10
"The tariqa (a Sufi path/order) is not the goal but a means, yet it is the most effective of means."
11
"To give up the hereafter in order to seize the world, and to abandon Allah the Exalted in order to please people, is foolishness."
12
"The world is an aid to the desires of the nafs."
13
"Do not distance yourself from Allah."
14
"The end of everything is the earth."
15
"There is no place for deceit in love."
16
"Sharia (the sacred law) has three parts: knowledge, action, and ikhlas (sincerity)."
17
"The angels envy the place where those who gather for Allah are present..."
18
"To perform an obligatory act at its prescribed time is more beneficial than performing supererogatory worship for a thousand years."
19
"To value the disbelievers is to demean Islam."
20
"To abandon the obligatory and perform supererogatory acts of worship is to waste time in vain."
21
"Not every seeker may find, but those who find are seekers."
22
"The kalimat al-tawhid (the declaration of the oneness of God) means to abandon worship of idols and to worship the True Exalted One (Allah)."
23
"One should not make the world one's aim."
24
"The ascetic (zāhid), because he does not attach his heart to the world, is the wisest of people."
25
"Attachment to the world is the root of sins."
26
"Following the prophets raises a person to lofty ranks."
27
"Sharia (the sacred law) does not come to fruition until these three are realized."
28
"Not knowing what will befall one after death is a disaster."
29
"Do not walk with arrogance."
30
"To avoid sins is more meritorious."
31
"The sunnah and innovation (bidʿa) are opposites of each other."
32
"For the nafs, avoiding sins is more difficult than performing acts of worship."
33
"By thinking himself good, he has fallen into compounded ignorance (jahl murakkab)."
34
"The reason the qalb (the heart) loves many things is always for that one thing. And that is the nafs."
35
"In order to attain eternal salvation, three things are absolutely necessary: knowledge, action, and ikhlas (sincerity)."
36
"Become earth before you are made earth."
37
"Dying is not a disaster."
38
"A small deed done with ikhlas (sincerity) yields as much gain as acts of worship performed for years."
39
"When one is done, the other disappears."
40
"The world and the hereafter cannot be together."
41
"One should consider companionship a blessing."
42
"The lover, having become passionately devoted to the beloved, can no longer oppose him."
43
"The nafs is a storehouse of evil."
44
"Interference and laxity do not fit in love."
45
"None of the awliyāʾ (friends of God) can reach the rank of the Companions (ṣaḥāba)."
46
"None of the awliyāʾ can attain the rank of a prophet."
47
"Correct your intention, and your actions will become beautiful by themselves."
48
"Allah does not love those who are arrogant and boastful."
49
"Loving the great ones is the capital of happiness."
50
"For sages, it is not persistence in foolishness, but knowledge and character."
51
"Know well that to converse with an innovator (bidʿa-holder) is far worse than befriending a disbeliever. There are seventy-two kinds of innovators. Among them, the worst are those who are hostile to the Companions (ṣaḥāba) of our Prophet."
52
"Be alert so as not to spend your precious life in vain, chasing after useless things, play, and entertainment."
53
"Plato is the chief of philosophers. He lived during the time of the prophethood of Jesus (peace be upon him), but he did not affirm him. Due to his ignorance, he thought he had no need of him."
54
"One who wants to understand religious rulings with his own reason and make reason his guide has not believed in prophethood. It is not reasonable to converse with such a person."
55
"It is more virtuous to avoid sins than to perform extra supererogatory acts of worship. Just as performing one obligatory act is superior to thousands of supererogatory acts."
56
"The disagreements and battles among the Companions (ṣaḥāba) were due to good intentions and mature judgment. They were not due to the desires of the nafs or ignorance. It was due to knowledge. It was due to differences in ijtihād (independent legal reasoning)."
57
"Dying is not a disaster. Not knowing what will befall one after death is a disaster."
58
"One who uses the permissible (mubāḥ) things carelessly begins to do doubtful things. Doing doubtful things leads to the unlawful (haram)."